Closet shelf and hanger



Dec. 28, 1965 w. K. STORY 3,225,940

CLOSET SHELF AND HANGER Filed Sept. 28, 1964 III! I'll/III! [III/[I'LL], I III LL I I 16 I5 20 21-, 22 4 law 24 W I I5 10 F 5) K INVENTOR. WILLIAM K. STORY BY 2. H

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,225,940 CLOSET SHELF AND HANGER William K. Story, 1145 Median St., Opa-locka, Fla. Filed Sept. 28, 1964, Ser. No. 399,663 Claims. (Cl. 211153) This invention relates to house closets, and is directed particularly to a novel and improved combination closet shelf and hanger means of integral construction.

Closet shelves in new housing today for the most part are simply wood boards resting on or nailed to wood cleats secured against the back and side walls of the closet. The clothes hanging means is usually in the form of a metal or wooden rod secured at each end against the closet side walls. Such shelves, unless of carefully selected wood carefully finished, are dust and dirt catchers, and therefore difficult to keep clean and attractive in appearance. The hanger rods, moreover, are usually undersize, and often bend or break under the stresses imposed by the weight of hanging garments of a crowded closet. Despite these well known deficiencies in closet shelves and hanging means, builders persist, perhaps under the assumption that what is not openly visible is of little consequence in selling houses, in skirnping on closet shelves and hangers.

It is accordingly the principal object of this invention to provide a combination closet shelf and hanger means that overcomes the above-described deficiencies in Wooden closet shelves and hanger rods, yet which is so simple in construction and easy to install as to compete economically with bare wood shelving.

It is a more particular object to provide a combination closet shelf and hanger means that can be extruded in unitary form of a synthetic plastic material, and then cut to closet width for installation as one would a wooden shelf board.

Still another object is to provide a closet shelf and hanger means of the character described which, in addition to having conventional rod-like, laterally-extending means for the wire hooks of garment hangers, also provides for the use of sliding hanger hook eyes where desired for better separation and ease of lateral movement of hung garments.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, as seen from the underside, of a length of integral shelf with hanger means embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof as seen from the top;

FIG. 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary front view of the shelf showing one of the associated sliding hanger hook eyes in front elevation.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 designates a combined closet shelf and hanger embodying the invention, the same being of uniform cross-sectional shape along its length and preferably formed by extrusion of a tough synthetic plastic material. The combined closet shelf and hanger 10 comprises a top wall 11 the upper surface of which is smooth and fiat and of appropriate width for use as a closet shelf, a rectangular or box channel 12 formed along the underside of one longitudinal edge of said top wall, and a side wall 13 extending right-angularly downwardly from the other longitudinal edge of said top wall. The

3,225,940 Patented Dec. 28, 1965 ICC lower end of the side wall 13 merges into a short, outwardly extending wall portion 14 the outer end of which merges into an upwardly extending, inverted U-shaped portion 15 having inner and outer side wall portions 16 and 17, respectively. The outer ends of the side wall portions 16 and 17 merge into opposed, inwardly extending bottom walls 18 and 19, respectively, the outer ends of which terminate short of each other to define a central, longitudinally extending guide slot 20. The undersides of the bottom walls 18 and 19 are flush with the underside of the outwardly extending wall portion 14, and preferably lie in a plane including the undersurface of the box channel 12.

In order to provide increased rigidity, particularly against downward bending forces applied by shelf and hanger loads, a pair of downwardly extending, perpendicular webs 21 and 22 are formed in equidistantly spaced parallel relation along the underside of the top wall 11 between the box channel 12 and the side wall 13. Preferably, the outer edges of the webs 21 and 22 lie in the common plane defined by the undersurface of the box channel 12 and the undersides of the bottom walls 18 and 19. The various wall sections of the combined closet shelf and hanger 10 are preferably of equal width, with the exception of the bottom walls 18 and 19, which are somewhat thicker for increased rigidity of the hanger means.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 the upper surfaces of the inwardly extending bottom walls 18 and 19 prov-ide a track for a plurality of hanger hook eyes 23, said hook eyes being integrally formed, preferably of a tough synthetic plastic material such as nylon, with a rectangular horizontal head portion 24, and a central, downwardly extending, rectangular body portion 25 defining, with said head portion, a pair of opposed shoulders 26, 27 which bear against said upper surfaces. The lower end of the body portion 25 of the hanger hook eyes 23 merges into ring-shaped eye portions 28 adapted to receive, in hanging relation, the wire hooks of garment hangers, as is illustrated in FIG. 1. In use, the length of closet shelf and hanger 10 needed to fit a closet will be cut from stock lengths of the extruded product, after which the hanger hook eyes 23, if used in a particular installation, will be inserted through the guide slot 20 from either end. Wooden cleats or extruded metal or plastic U-shaped channel members (not illustrated) can easily be installed against the closet side walls for securing the closet shelf and hanger in place. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, conventional wire hook garment hangers can readily be hooked over the arcuate top of the inverted U-shap-ed portion 15 anywhere along the length of the shelf.

An important feature of the invention resides in the smooth, attractive and durable finish of the upper shelf surfaces. Other features are its high strength, despite thin wall section, and resultant economy of materials and ease of installation.

While there is illustrated and described herein only one form in which the invention may conveniently be embodied in practice, it is to be understood that this form is presented by way of example only, and not in a limiting sense. The invention, in brief, comprises all the embodiments and modifications coming within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a closet shelf having garment hanger means, the combination comprising, an integrally formed elongated member of uniform transverse cross-sectional shape having a top wall shelf portion, strengthening means formed along one longitudinal edge of said top wall portion at the underside thereof, a side wall extending perpendicularly downwardly to the underside along the other longitudinal edge of said top wall portion, a perpendicularly outwardly extending wall portion at the outer end of said side wall, and aninverted U-shaped wall portion extending upwardly and outwardly of the outer end of said outwardly extending wall portion to provide a transversely curved, longitudinally extending upper wall surface for hanging wire hook garment hangers.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 including a plurality of perpendicular, longitudinally extending webs depending from the underside of said top wall portion in spaced parallel relation between said strengthening means and said side wall.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 including inwardly extending bottom walls extending from the outer ends of the side wall portions of said U-shaped wall portion, said bottom walls extending short of one another to define a longitudinal guide slot, and a plurality of References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,487,301 11/1949 Borah 211-88 2,870,916 1/1959 La Bonia et al. 108-30 3,051,318 8/1962 Murphy 21194 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A CLOSET SHELF HAVING GARMENT HANGER MEANS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING, AN INTEGRALLY FORMED ELONGATED MEMBER OF UNIFORM TRANSVERSE CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE HAVING A TOP WALL SHELF PORTION, STRENGTHENING MEANS FORMED ALONG ONE LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF SAID TOP WALL PORTION AT THE UNDERSIDE THEREOF, A SIDE WALL EXTENDING PERPENDICULARLY DOWNWARDLY TO THE UNDERSIDE ALONG THE OTHER LONGITUDINAL EDGE OF SAID TOP WALL PORTION, A PERPENDICULARLY 